I tasted this one at the Trialto tasting of Southbrook Whimsy! wines. Bill Redelmeir (the owner), Brian Hamilton (the winemaker), Reagan Kapach (the assistant winemaker) and Ann Sperling (Director of Winemaking and Viticulture) from Southbrook came to Toronto for the event and gave us lots of information about the winery and the wines. Slightly golden in color with a slightly creamy texture to the wine in the glass. It has a mild nose with some minerality and chard fruit coming through. On the mid pallet this is a bold wine with lots of chard fruit, and some vanilla. On the finish this wine is medium in length and beautifully coats the mouth with lovely flavours that linger nicely along with some acidity and minerality typical of Niagara on the Lake Chards. This is a well made wine. It’s only available from the winery or from Trialto for $34.95 a bottle. I would give this a 90. Yummy. It’s a fine example of the incredible wines coming out of Niagara and one of my favourites from the evening! Keep up the great work at Southbrook folks! I also enjoy their Triomphe Chard!
From the winery’s web site:
Winemaker’s Notes: Varietal: 100% Chardonnay Appellation: VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake Estate vineyard
Brix at harvest: 22° & 23.7° Alcohol: 13.2% Titratable Acidity: 6 g/l
ph: 3.4 Residual Sugar: 5.8 g/l
Bottled: September 19, 2011 Closure: Natural cork Cases Produced: 70
Release Date: November 2012
In the Cellar
This 7 barrel Whimsy Blend was selected following 11 months of barrel aging following indigenous fermentation and MLF in these same barrels. The slightly larger barrel formats of 265 L, rather than the standard 225 L allow quicker, and more subtle, integration of oak with the wine creating an elegant richness.
